Genealogy Dept
greatgrandparents' grave
at Marston Sicca.
It was the discovery of their family bible that sparked Bob's interest in family history.
Genealogy Dept |
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Bob Cowley's greatgrandparents' grave at Marston Sicca. It was the discovery of their family bible that sparked Bob's interest in family history. |
Welcome to our family history pages. This site is very much a work in progress, so do not judge it too harshly. On the other hand, we would be very interested to receive your feedback at this stage as it may influence the way the site develops.
The research summarised here is based on the pedigree of Managing Director Bob Cowley's father and that of Company Secretary Linda Losito (nee Smith), but now also includes information on Bob's world-wide one-name study of the surname Mascord (details below).
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Bob's father's ancestors all lived and died within a circle of 12 mile radius which includes Stratford-upon-Avon (in South Warwickshire) and Banbury (in North Oxfordshire), while Linda's ancestors are concentrated in the triangle formed by Oxford, Wantage and Reading. (To help you distinguish the two, in the following pages all Linda's family trees are shown against a purple background.) |
As you explore these pages, you will find yourself in one of two kinds of heirarchy. While most of the information is laid out in the form of pedigrees, in some cases there is additional information available by clicking on a person's name. This will take you into a parallel heirarchy, structured in the form of family units. You can navigate up and down either heirarchy by means of the double arrows, or move from one heirarchy to the other by clicking on any highlighted name.
While we are reasonably confident of the information contained in these pages, it is almost inevitable that there are some mistakes, so, if you think you spot one, please let us know.
Also of course if you see a possible connection with your own research, please get in touch. We have a good deal more information on many of these people, including in many cases brothers' and sisters' names, even though they may not be listed here.
Finally, a few words of explanation about the following surname index.
Clicking on any name will normally take you to the most recent
occurance of that name in our pedigree. If the surname is listed
more than once in the index it indicates that it appears on more than
one branch of the tree, so you should check each branch separately.
However, variations of spelling of a name within one branch
have not been given separate listings.
Alcock Allen Arkell Baldwin Ball Barns Bathe Bathe Beck Beckingham Bedwin Belamew Blenham Bonham Brooks Brown Buckingham Buckingham Buntar Buttler Colins Collett Cook Cooper Court Cowley Cross Dalton Day Deane Dubber Durbidge Durham Evans Eveness Exell Field Frisby Gardiner Gardner Gardner Gibbins Glenn Green Groves Hall Hall Hankins Harris Harrison Hart Harvey Hawtin Hickes Hind Hitchman Hodgkins Horn Humphreys Humphreys Jones Jones Kimberey Lancely Lee Leek Lyford Lyford Mackrell Malins Mascord Miles Palmer Rickson Rowe Sabin Sheldon Shepherd Smallbone Smith Smith Smith Sprigge Stanley Stow Stow Tanner Taplin Taylor Tomalin Townsend Tubb Turner Turner Turville Ward Webb Webb Weller Weston White Whitehead Wicks Wilson Woodward
Is your name Mascord? |
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You probably realise that your name is uncommon, but did you realise that all the Mascords in the world derive their name from one man?
This original John Mascord was born about 30 years after William Shakespeare's death, and this is his actual signature on a document written in 1708. (He spelled his name as either Mascord or Marscord).
So if your name is Mascord, you are certainly a cousin of Bob Cowley (as it is his grandmother's maiden name) and he would love to hear from you.
Bob began investigating the name as part of his own pedigree, but became so fascinated by its unique history that he is now the official researcher of the name Mascord world-wide, registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies.
Richard Cowley had established himself as an actor in London
with the Admiral's Men by 1590 and toured the provinces with
Strange's Men in 1593.
As a result, he became a founder member of the Lord Chamberlain's Men
in 1594, along with Richard Burbage and William Shakespeare.
Having established themselves as the leading theatre company of their
day, this group took the bold decision to collectively build and
operate their own theatre. They named it The Globe Theatre,
and when it opened in 1599 it quickly became the most popular theatre
in London.
Indeed, such was their success that, when James I became King
following the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, one of his first
acts (within two weeks of arriving in London) was to grant their
company a Royal Warrant.
Richard Cowley is specifically named to that warrant along with
Shakespeare, Burbage, Fletcher, Phillipps, Hemming, Condell, Sly,
and Armin, their company now adopting the title of The King's Men.
As my researches continue into Richard Cowley's life, I shall
continue to expand on the information here. Specifically, of course,
I am curious to know more of his family history and descendants.
The Cowley Corner
Wes Cowley runs this charming virtual bookstore and coffee shop.
Why not drop in for a chat?
You'll meet Cowleys from all over the world!
The Cowley Family Genealogy Forum
This is a forum (hosted by the Genforum people)
for the exchange of genealogical information
involving the Cowley surname.
The Cowley, or Colley, Family
A transcription of the Gloucestershire Notes and Queries
for 1890, giving histories of Cowleys in Gloucestershire
and elsewhere (including Ireland) since the 13th Century.
No direct connection to my Cowleys so far as I know, but
still fascinating.
Many thanks to Stuart Flight and Brenda Pickard for creating
this resource. Stuart's site has all sorts of other interesting
stuff for family historians researching into Gloucestershire.
Census Transcripts of Gloucestershire and South Warwickshire
Gordon Beavington's extraordinary (and ongoing) effort to make
census material available on the Web has proved invaluable to my
research of my Cowley pedigree. Thanks again Gordon!